Sunday, November 30, 2008

Question regarding thyroids. I was diagnosed at the age of 32 with hypothyroid. looking back, i can seem sypmtoms appearing as early as age 12, but no one thought to check. (even though my mother and her mother and my aunt all have thyroid issues you would think my diagnosis was a no brainer) anyway, two questions: 1) how can i help my daughters have healthy strong thyroids? i currently have my 10 year old take a couple drops of lugol's every few days. 2) can i recover any of my own disfunctional thyroid? i also use lugol's thanks!

The most common thyroid problem in women is hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid. Symptoms may include:

Severe fatigue, loss of energy, persistent sleepiness

Weight gain, difficulty losing weight

Depressed mood

Joint and muscle pain

Dry skin, brittle nails and hair, thinning hair /hair loss

Irregular periods/infertility/PMS

Fibrocystic breast disease

polycystic ovarian disease

intolerance to cold/cold hands and feet

fuzzy thinking or difficulty concentrating/poor memory

loss of libido

puffiness/swelling in the face or extremities.

headaches

hoarseness/raspy voice/scratchy throat

nervousness/anxiety

burning or tingling sensations in the hands and/or feet

problems with balance and equilibrium (unsteadiness or lack of coordination)

constipation

hypertension/High Blood Pressure

high Cholesterol

hypoglycemia/low blood sugar

Thyroid blood tests are sometimes not accurate. I go by a much smaller range of the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level. I like to see the TSH between 0.5 and 1.0. Between 1.0 and 1.5 I recommend iodine, tyrosine, and other natural supplements. Over 1.5 I often start using thyroid medication such as Armour Thyroid or Westhroid.

I have found that perimenopause and menopause are very stressful to the thyroid. Often, when the hormones are better balanced through herbs or bio-identical hormones, the thyroid improves.

Stress also has an effect on the thyroid, and learning ways to deal with stress such as meditation, yoga, and emotional work can improve the thyroid.

Insulin resistance can also have a negative effect on the thyroid. Balancing the blood sugars through diet and supplements can improve thyroid function.

While more research needs to be done, it is generally accepted that diet plays a major role in thyroid health. We know that low iodine intake leads to low thyroid function and eventually to goiter (enlarged thyroid). Iodized salt was intended to solve this problem, but it has not been the answer. There are a number of foods known as goitrogens that block iodine. Two goitrogens are quite prevalent in the American diet—peanuts and peanut butter and soybeans, used most often in prepared foods as textured vegetable protein (a refined soy food) and soybean oil. More about soybean oil below.

Many studies show the detrimental effects of refined sugars and grains on our health. These foods are very taxing on the thyroid gland, and we consume them in large quantities.

Environmental stress such as chemical pollutants, pesticides, mercury, and fluoride are also tough on the thyroid. A growing body of evidence suggests that fluoride, which is prevalent in toothpaste and water treatment, may inhibit the functioning of the thyroid gland. Additionally, mercury may diminish thyroid function because it displaces the trace mineral selenium, and selenium is involved in conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3.

Ray Peat Ph.D., a physiologist who has worked with progesterone and related hormones since 1968, says that the sudden surge of polyunsaturated oils such as soybean oil into the food chain post World War II has caused many changes in hormones. He writes:

"Their [polyunsaturated oils] best understood effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When the thyroid hormone is deficient, the body is generally exposed to increased levels of estrogen. The thyroid hormone is essential for making the ‘protective hormones’ progesterone and pregnenolone, so these hormones are lowered when anything interferes with the function of the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required for using and eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to be raised by anything which blocks the thyroid function."

There is a growing body of research concerning soy’s detrimental affect on the thyroid gland. Much of this research centers on the phytoestrogens ("phyto" means plant) that are found in soy. In the 1960s when soy was introduced into infant formulas, it was shown that soy was goitrogenic and caused goiters in babies. When iodine was supplemented, the incidence of goiter reduced dramatically. However, a retrospective epidemiological study by Fort, et al. showed that teenaged children with a diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disease were significantly more likely to have received soy formula as infants (18 out of 59 children; 31 percent) when compared to healthy siblings (nine out of 76, 12 percent) or control group children (seven out of 54; 13 percent).

When healthy individuals without any previous thyroid disease were fed 30 grams of pickled soybeans per day for one month, Ishizuki, et al. reported goiter and elevated individual thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (although still within the normal range) in thirty-seven healthy, iodine-sufficient adults. One month after stopping soybean consumption, individual TSH values decreased to the original levels and goiters were reduced in size.

Soybean oil has been used to fatten livestock. According to Dr. Ray Peat, the fattening effect of polyunsaturated oils (primarily soy and corn) is due to the presence of Linoleic and linolenic acids, long-chain fatty acids, which have an anti-thyroid effect. Peat says:

"Linoleic and linolenic acids, the "essential fatty acids," and other polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are now fed to pigs to fatten them, in the form of corn and soy beans, cause the animals' fat to be chemically equivalent to vegetable oil. In the late 1940s, chemical toxins were used to suppress the thyroid function of pigs, to make them get fatter while consuming less food. When that was found to be carcinogenic, it was then found that corn and soy beans had the same antithyroid effect, causing the animals to be fattened at low cost. The animals' fat becomes chemically similar to the fats in their food, causing it to be equally toxic, and equally fattening.Of course in the 1940s the fat from pigs (lard) was highly desirable, as were most saturated fats. Today, saturated fats are fed to pigs to keep them lean, while most people buy polyunsaturated soy and corn oils in the grocery stores as their primary cooking oil! So we have a population now characterized by lean pigs and obese people…"

Coconut oil, on the other hand, is a saturated fat made up primarily of medium chain fatty acids. Also known as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), medium chain fatty acids are known to increase metabolism and promote weight loss. Coconut oil can also raise basal body temperatures while increasing metabolism. This is good news for people who suffer with low thyroid function.

Taking a small amount of Lugol's solution (Potassium Iodide) daily can assist the thyroid. It can also protect the thyroid from radiation. Too much can cause problems, so it's better to get a recommendation from a knowlegable doctor.

Blue light on the thyroid gland has also in some small studies shown to improve thyroid function.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I have not been faithful to my readers. My internet has been down for over 3 weeks because some workmen moved our satellite dish, and I haven't taken the effort to read the comments and questions to these blogs for a while through other sources. My internet is now working again! I was so excited last night to log on after the man came and fixed the satellite! And to think that 20 years ago I didn't even know what the internet was. It is quite amazing how quickly new technology becomes engrained in our culture so that what was once non-existant is now a necessity.

I have now resolved to write something, large or small, on this blog at least once a week. Now the world can see how well I am able to keep my resolutions! This there are many questions that deserve an answer. I will work on answering them to the best of my knowledge.

How would I find someone who provides the following therapies you suggested for CRPS/RSD? -- hydrogen peroxide intravenously, ultraviolet blood irradiation, specific frequency input, such as colored light, infrared therapy, low level laser therapy, magnetic therapy, and FMS (frequency specific microcurrent. My symptoms are getting worse and I would like to try some of these therapies.Thanks.

This is not an easy answer. I doubt there are very many physicians or other health practitioners who do all of these therapies. Physicians who utilize some of the practices often do not advertise them because they are not considered standard of care by the general medical community. The following are several sources for physicians who use treatments that are scientifically sound but "outside the box." Many of these organizations have been around a long time and base their treatments on scientific research, but are not necessarily accepted by mainstream medical physicians. Other physicians do not maintain long-term membership in these organizations and therefore may not be on their lists but still utilize the therapies according to protocol. However, be aware that there are also practitioners who use therapies that are not scientifically sound and, though rarely, harmful. It will take due diligence on your part to locate, call, question if they do the therapy and their training in it, to be able to find the practitioner or practitioners that will assist you the most.

And as always, you can Google the procedure along with physicians, and various sources will come up. Good luck!!

So can biofeedback release trauma? What has to happen in the brain or body for trauma release to be complete - or stop releasing?

"Trauma release" is a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The body is reacting to triggers that sub-consciously remind it of the trauma that was previously experienced. The brain gets stuck in that trauma, creating a loop that keeps the brain from working through and letting go of that trauma. It keeps re-living the trauma, either sub-consciously, which often creates physical symptoms, through dreams, or through "abreactions," which is a "release, or acting out, of repressed trauma." This is often in the form of a "waking dream," in which the person feels like they are actually in the middle of the trauma once again. A softer form is repetitive physical symptoms, such as tremors, ticks, pain in specific areas related to the trauma, etc.

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